Mobility Matters #89 - Free public transport, Snowdon, and depression
The data shows quite how insanely busy the Tokyo Metro is
Good morning friends.
Well, it is good evening where (or should i say when) I am. I am writing this on Friday evening ahead of a weekend of bid writing, so if there are any major transport stories over the coming weekend then they will have to wait until tomorrow. The evening dog walk went the same way as the day’s cricket at Lords and was washed out by rain. So lets see what happened to end the week.
Make public transport free, this time in Ireland
It’s the idea that keeps raising its head, and this time it is the turn of Ireland where a Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action has recommended that free public transport be costed as an option to help people leave their cars at home. This is part of a wide-ranging report into transport which recommends a significant number of transport interventions, including 10% of roads funding to cycling and road space reallocation. But free public transport always grabs a headline.
I covered the implications of free public transport back in Mobility Matters #80, but what this article has inspired me to look at is why certain ideas simply refuse to die. This is most commonly seen in road schemes known as zombie road schemes, but other modes of transport have them as well. I can certainly think of a few railway reopenings that are in that category, some of them getting funding through the Restoring Your Railways Fund. But there is little research on exactly why these ideas don’t die. Is it nostalgia? That one engineer who hasn’t retired yet? I don’t know. But transport is riddled with these ideas, and it often holds us back.
Snowdon is at the forefront of car-free rural areas
Mount Snowdon in Wales is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the country. And at popular visitor attractions there is often transport conflict. In this case, a local taxi company feels that it is being sidelined by the National Park Authority in favour of getting people to and from the mountain by shuttle bus. Regardless of the issue at play, Snowdon is one of many rural areas that are becoming increasingly bold in discouraging car use in protected landscapes.
Places such as Snowdon are unique in that their transport and access issues are particularly concentrated and acute. Research shows that strong partnership working and governance are essential precursors to delivering travel behaviour change in rural areas. There is also recognition that traditional park management models can encourage car-centric planning. But as the issues on Snowdon show, conflict still needs managing. And unless we want to lay black top over more countryside, it needs managing more strongly.
Can public transport actually make us happier?
For those of you who have known me for a long time will know that I have had mental health issues in the past. And to be honest they still flare up from time-to-time. Sadly, depression is a demon that does not go away. But what interested me was an article in the British Medical Journal that indicates that a free bus policy (it had to be that) may actually have a positive impact in terms of tackling depression symptoms. The reason for this is simple - doing so allows sufferers to access activities that make us happier.
This is not without precedent. One of the most popular Reddit threads of all time was about a guy who took a bus for a hike to help with his depression. But it contrasts strongly with a narrative on mental health and public transport where using it is a bad experience, and focussing on potential triggers. Our thinking on the impact of public transport needs to be more complete than focussing on the bad, whilst at the same time not being complacent.
Stat of the Day
The sheer scale of the Tokyo Metro never ceases to amaze me, and always confirms to me that it is the greatest rail and metro network in the world. Just to compare, London Underground serves 270 stations over 402 km, with 4704 cars, for just 3.7 million passengers per day. Tokyo knows how to sweat its assets.
Source: Tokyo Metro Data